Industrial Information of Things(IIoT): The Benefits And Challenges of Implementing IIoT Solutions

The industries began to evolve with the increasing demand for products. Most of us thought that we had just only one Industrial Revolution but in reality, we have seen three industrial revolutions. It all started with the First Industrial Revolution in 1784 with the advent of steam engines and steam was used to power everything. The First Industrial revolution lasted until 1870. The year 1870 marked the beginning of the Second Industrial Revolution. The Second Industrial Revolution saw the rise of mind-blowing inventions and marked the beginning of mass production in industries. The 1950s saw the rise of a new class of materials called semiconductors. This initiated the Third Industrial Revolution brought digital technology(computers and the internet) to the industries. Analog systems were replaced by digital ones. We are presently in the Third Industrial Revolution. We would be stepping into the Fourth Industrial Revolution alias Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 was initiated by the Government of Germany as a part of its “High-Tech Strategy 2020” in 2010. Industry 4.0 aims to connect and automatically integrate things and processes to form cyber-physical systems. The main goal of Industry 4.0 is to increase the value of the industrial manufacturing environment and reduce waste through the implementation of modern technologies. In this blog, I would be explaining the benefits and challenges of implementing the Industrial Internet of Things.

The Timeline Of Four Industrial Revolutions

What is the Industrial Internet of Things(IIot)?

The Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT) is the implementation of smart sensors and actuators to enhance the efficiency of the industrial and manufacturing process.IIoT uses the power of smart machines and real-time data analytics to take advantage of the data produced during the operation of the conventional existing machines(an ordinary machine that has no processing capabilities) in the industrial setup. The driving principle behind IIoT is that smart machines are not only better than humans at capturing and analyzing data in real-time but also hold an upper hand in communicating important and relevant information which is useful to make business decisions faster and more accurately. In the early days, IIoT and Industry 4.0 were considered to be two separate initiatives. After extensive research and analysis, it has been proven that there are more similarities between IIoT and Industry 4.0 rather than differences that exist in their approaches. Nowadays, the term Industry 4.0 has been used interchangeably with IIoT.

What is the difference between the Internet of Things(IoT) and the Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT)?

Internet of Things(IoT) V/S Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT)

The Internet of Things(IoT) is all about connecting devices that have their own unique identities and networks. They are embedded with sensors, electronics and software which allow them to collect & exchange data over the Internet without any human intervention. The main aim of implementing IoT is to convert an ordinary device that has no processing capabilities, into a smarter device with its own computing capability. This would allow the exchange of exchange data over the internet and communicate real-time data without human intervention. The Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT) is a network of smart devices that has its own computing capability. These devices are connected to form systems. These systems primarily collect, monitor, exchange and analyze data at the industrial level. Connected sensors and actuators help organizations to pick up on inefficiencies and problems as soon as possible which in turn helps them to save time and money while supporting business intelligence efforts. In the manufacturing sector, IIoT technology holds great potential for quality control, sustainable practices, supply chain traceability and overall supply chain efficiency.IIoT can be considered as a subset of the IoT that predominantly caters to industrial applications.

How Does The IIoT Work?

IIoT Infrastructure

The IIoT system consists of the following components. They are:

1. Connected Devices Like Sensors, Remote Devices And Computers Which Can Sense, Communicate And Store Information About Themselves
2. Public (Or) Private Data Infrastructure
3. Analytics And Application Software That Can Generate Bussiness Information From Raw Data
4. Storage Of The Data Obtained From The IIoT Devices
5. People Involved In Using The Data For Taking Important Bussiness Decisions

The IIoT system basically requires data to be shared between multiple devices and across multiple networks. The data from the sensors, remote devices and computers are sent to the centralized computer system. This involves a massive volume of real-time data being transferred from the machines to the cloud. This requires a high-level cyber-security framework to prevent the data from being misused. The data in the cloud is processed with analytics software to generate business information from real-time data. Based on the business information, important decisions are taken by the organization as soon as possible to improve the working efficiency of the industry.

What Are The Benefits Of Implementing The IIoT Solutions?

From the working of the IIoT, it’s clear that the IIoT technology is beneficial in improving the efficiency of the company. In this part of the article, I will be highlighting the benefits of implementing IIoT in an industry in detail.

1. Predictive Maintenance(PdM) And Condition Based Maintenance(CBM): Predictive Maintenance is a method of preventing the failure of particular machinery or an asset of an industry or a plant by analyzing production data to identify patterns and predict the issue it may face shortly. Predictive maintenance analytics has been implemented for a single machine part or to factory-wide deployments for increasing productivity throughout the production line. IIoT sensors working in association with manufacturing equipment can generate condition-based maintenance alerts. These sensors can record various parameters like working environment temperature, atmospheric conditions and the impact of shipping container/vehicle environmental conditions on the product. The IIoT sensors can also measure temperature, vibrations and other factors which could prove risky while operating the equipment.
2. Real-Time Data: IIoT provides real-time availability on the supply chain data. This data is quite beneficial to track the products and supplies. It can also find out the slowdowns and inefficiencies in the supply chain. The IIoT technology can connect the suppliers with the plant and therefore create transparency in the material flow and manufacturing cycle times.
3. Error Prevention: The IIoT technology can help the organization to reduce and often even prevent errors in the management of the inventory and production flow. The software allows the user to track their supply chains from all over the globe. The production lines of the organization can be monitored in real-time from any corner of the world. The software also recommends suitable alterations or modifications to improve the working efficiency of the machinery. They also play a vital role in preventing slowdowns and also decrease the company’s expenditure by eliminating waste and unneeded work.
4. Enhanced Safety: The safety of the employees is as important as that of the company’s annual turnover. The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of health and safety can be monitored in the working environment can be monitored and immediate action can be taken to improve the working conditions. Some of the key KPIs like number of employee injuries, short- and long-term absences and illness rates can be analyzed.
5. Smart Metering: The IIoT technology can help the plant managers of the plant to keep a track of the consumption of resources such as fuel, water, and electricity. The data can help the plant managers understand when, where and how these resources are being used. These data would be useful for resource management.
6. Packaging Optimization: The IIoT sensors can be used to analyze the quality of the components that are being delivered to the company. Smart tracking tools can analyze whether the component was damaged by the weather, road conditions or other environmental factors. These insights can make sure that the components are delivered in a proper condition.

What Are The Challenges Involved In Implementing The IIoT Solutions?

The Challenges Involved In Implementing The IIoT Solutions

Despite all the benefits of implementing the IIoT solution, there have always been a lot of challenges involved. In this part of the blog, I will be highlighting the challenges involved in implementing the IIoT solutions.

1. SCADA Security Challenges: SCADA systems are generally not put under the IT network firewall. This poses a massive threat to the large volume of data that's being transferred.
2. Legacy Installed Base Equipment Challenges: The implementation of IIoT in an industry needs a lot of modifications in the existing equipment. The equipment existing in the industry is at least 20 years old. This requires a lot of investment.
3. Lack Of Standardization: The Internet is of key importance in IIoT technology. The lack of standardization for internet communication protocols has been preventing the developers to create Industrial IoT apps that require more established infrastructure to work.
4. IT/OT Convergence: On the OT side, there is a need to protect sensors and applications from hackers. These hackers can potentially use these devices to access the communication link and push malware or viruses into the network. On the IT side, despite the existing tools in place to deal with the security issues, there is always a chance to physically secure a single location to control data flow.
5. Lack of Skilled Workers: IIoT is a new technology. The employees in the company lack the required skill set to work on the IIoT technology. The academia in developing countries hasn’t yet implemented IIoT as a part of their technical curriculum. According to many company executives, the employees lack computer and technical knowledge in IIoT.
6. Data Integrity: Data integrity is an important process in the IIoT technology that aims to protect the data. The data needs to be protected from hackers who can misuse it. This calls for the need for a very strong cybersecurity infrastructure. This is yet another expenditure for the companies.

Who Are The Leading IIoT Vendors?

The Leading Industry 4.0 Adopters In The Year 2020

The leading IIoT Vendors in the market are as follows:

1. ABB Ability
2. Aveva Wonderware
3. Axzon
4. Cisco IoT
5. Fanuc Field System
6. Linx Global Manufacturing
7. MindSphere by Siemens
8. Plataine
9. Predix by GE

Which Industrial Sectors Would Be Benefited The Most With The Implementation Of IIoT?

It would really great to see the small scale industries and the medium scale improving their production by implementing IIoT. At present, I feel the automotive, oil & gas and aviation sectors would be the most benefitted by the IIoT technology. Now I would be explaining how IIoT can be implemented in the automotive, oil & gas and aviation sector.

1. Automotive Sector: The automotive sector is one such which involves millions of parts ranging from components as tiny as a nut to as large as the chassis. The implementation of IIoT would support automation of assembly and fabrication of machine parts on the shop floor. This technology would be used for predictive maintenance of the shop floor equipment. All the data obtained from the shop floor using the IIoT technology can be used to identify the wastage and errors during the manufacturing process. This data can be used as a basis for quality control.
2. Oil And Gas Sector: The oil and gas sector is totally dependent on the supply chain. Implementation of smart sensors can play a vital role in building an intelligent supply chain. In oil pipelines, sensors can report important parameters like temperature, the velocity of oil, pressure, and other crucial data that can keep the oil flowing.
3. Aviation Sector: Safety and efficiency are the most important parameters in the aviation sector. IIoT can control both these parameters. The sensors can be implemented to detect fuel usage to determine the exact level of fuel required to complete the trip. Any irregularities or potential mishaps in the aircraft can be found out using sensors.

Conclusion

The Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT) has been growing by leaps and bounds for the last five years. Many of them have been fearing that Industrial Automation might take away the jobs. According to the Grand View Research’s report published in June 2019, the IIoT market size is anticipated to be valued at $949.42 Billion By 2025. According to the Future of Jobs Report 2020, over 85 million jobs in 26 countries would be overtaken by the automation systems but it would end up creating over 97 million newer job opportunities and over 50% of employees in the globe need reskilling. The developing countries must step up their academic curriculum and include technical aspects of IIoT. IIoT must be considered as a multidisciplinary technical course. The engineers graduating in the forthcoming years must be equipped with a computer and technical skills in the IIoT domain.